Although we are all thrilled to have football back in our lives, take Week 0 with a grain of salt. These betting lines have been out for months, and the sharp money has shaped them into the numbers we see now. And through the transfer portal, realignment, and the new playoff format, teams are taking a brand new approach to the college football season. So, as you open your betting app to lock in a bet for this Saturday, remember that week 0 is garbage. 

Still, think you can find an edge in the first week of an altered landscape of football? Yeah, me too. So, let’s flesh out some picks in this weekend’s abbreviated slate.

10 Florida State (-10.5) vs Georgia Tech, O/U 55.5 

You may be timid to take a Florida State team that is only returning nine starters in a conference game to start the season, but Head Coach Mike Norvell has a proven track record in bringing quality transfers and recruits to fill the holes of a team that completed an undefeated regular season just one year ago.

I fully believe in the ability of Florida State’s offense to move the ball on what should be a weaker Georgia Tech defensive line. Some questions about Florida State’s roster pushed this number down to 10.5 through the summer after opening 13.5, and I believe they’ve pushed it just a smidge too far.

Pick: Florida State -10.5 (-110)

SMU (-24.5) @ Nevada, O/U 55.5

I’m not going to sugarcoat this, the Nevada Wolf Pack has been trash. They are coming off back-to-back 2-10 seasons and now face an SMU team in their first bout of the regular season that absolutely destroyed inferior teams when they faced them last season. I’m willing to bet that SMU will continue that trend at least early in the season before they get tested by 10 Florida State in a couple of weeks.

For the last few months, sharp money came in on SMU to the point where the number ballooned out to 27, causing a big buyback on Nevada. Books are now hanging a 24 or 24.5 that we saw earlier in the summer that I find as a good buying opportunity.

Hopefully, Nevada can find some semblance of a gameplan later in the season, but on this Saturday they will be completely outmatched.

Pick: SMU -24.5 (-108)